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Monday, October 14, 2013

I'm back with part two of how menu planning is going for me. I actually started planning for meals and cooking at home a couple weeks ago, but with blogging it seems like everything gets posted a little bit later than when it happened. So I just published a post a few days ago about how I really don't like cooking and how we eat out way too much. Well...I'm happy to report that I am cooking at home a lot more now! The planning and organizing everything has helped me tremendously. I will admit we have still ate out a few times. I'm working on trying to break that habit tho!So I shared with ya'll the printable I made for myself for meal planning and a shopping list. I really like using it a lot. Here's a picture I took of meal planning from last week.

Today I thought I would share the meal planning system I'm working on.I bought a really cute and colorful binder for our meal planning. I figured at least the binder would make me happy since cooking and grocery shopping isn't my favorite thing. :)

I got some sheet protectors from Dollar Tree. I am in the process of printing out our favorite recipes to add to it. I also like the idea of a binder, because now if I see a recipe I like online or browsing Pinterest, I can print it out and stick it in there. I am going to organize the recipes a little better, maybe getting some page dividers, after I get more in there.

I've been keeping our menu plan/shopping list handy in there so I can have it all in one place. I'm keeping the whole binder in the kitchen so when I think of something to add to it I can.

This is the beginning phase of organizing our meal planning. I'm sure I will tweak things to have them work better. But as of right now, it really seems to be helping me! I am a person that needs a little organization to be productive with things. So now when 5 o clock rolls around, I don't have to frantically think of where I should go pick up food, I just start the meal I have wrote down. This has really helped make our house feel more like "our castle".So how do ya'll do your meal planning? Do you have a certain system for it you love?

Sunday, October 13, 2013

This quote is one of my favorites. How true that is! As part of making our house into our castle, I've been trying to enjoy the "little" things more. Just writing this series has been very reflective for me and opened my eyes to how many things I have to cherish.

And none of those things are material things.

These precious moments we have with our families are really the important things.

Some of our "little" things in life we have experienced this weekend:

Going to the library and reading Dr Suess books with my boys

Eating a coconut cream pie while watching football together

Seeing my five year old little boy writing a girl an I love you note {I can't believe that is already starting!}

Lots of hugs and kisses from my one year old son

Listening to the pouring rain outside while drinking my coffee

Hearing my kids play together

Seeing my one year old climb up in his big brother's bed and cuddling with him

Finding and reading an old love note my husband wrote me when we were teenagers

It's funny all these seemingly "little" things are what makes my life so enjoyable and happy. And it is what helps make my house feel like our little castle.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying those "little" things you have going on in your life!

Friday, October 11, 2013

One area of our lives that I need to organize is our meals. I have a confession. Cooking is not really my thing. I like making desserts. But as far as cooking actual meals, I would rather be doing something else. When it comes to meal time, we eat out WAY too much. We live close to a Mexican food place that I love. I think I could eat their food every single day if my husband would let me. It is that good. When I have a soft taco or sour cream chicken enchilada craving, I just pick up their food to take home for lunch or dinner. One of the ladies there started recognizing me and pretty much knows my order. Not a good thing!It's just so easy to eat out for me. I was raised in a family that ate out all the time. My mom never really liked to cook. So eating out just feels normal to me. So in my family now, there are days where I will just pick up food and bring it home. My family gets fed and I get to spend time doing things I like instead of cooking. But, it's time for a change. We just simply can't eat out this much anymore.My two biggest reasons are: my family's health and our money.At a very recent doctor visit, my husband found out his cholesterol was too high. Which made me feel horrible. When I heard the doctor say that, I took it pretty personal. I know I'm not completely responsible for it. But since I am the person that is in charge of the majority of our meals, I felt pretty bad. I want my family to be healthy. We do pretty well in eating healthy snacks around the house {my kids love fruits & veggies which I am thankful for}. But, I know all the take out Mexican food cannot be good for us. Plus the money we spend eating out is just ridiculous. It's kind of funny. I think of myself as a pretty thrifty person. I love finding good bargains. I don't splurge too much on unnecessary things. I wait to purchase big items before I do all the research I can to find the lowest price.But eating out. It is my weakness. My kryptonite. The biggest way I waste money.So to make this house our castle, I am going to start getting better at menu planning and cut WAY back on eating out. I made this little menu planning and shopping list template to help me with this.I put it on Google docs if anyone would like to print it for free. Just click here.

It's super simple but cute at the same time. I'm hoping it will help me get organized in this area of our lives. Do any of ya'll have the same eating out problems I do? Or do you like to cook?